Planter



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@l "I'm 1953 c. w. WALZV ET AL 2,650,000

- PLANTER Original Filed Jam. 24, 1946 WA R I J F C O L I Patented Aug. 25, 1953 UNITED STATES PLANTER Claude W. Walz, Rock Island, and Howard F.

Clausen, Moline, Ill., assignors to Deere & Company, Moline, 111., a corporation of Illinois Original application January 24, 1946, Serial No. 643,016. Divided and this application October 6, 1947, Serial N0. 778,130

4 Claims. (01. 222-185) This application is a division of our co-pending application, Serial No. 643,016, filed January 24, 1946, Now Patent No. 2,596,060.

The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements and more particularly to planters and the like.

The object and general nature of the present invention is the provision of a towed planter or similar implement especially constructed and! arranged for planting in a plurality of relatively closely spaced rows, as is desirable when planting beets, beans, and other crops. A further feature of this invention is the provision of a planter in which the seed cans can be carried in a low position, one on each of the planting units, with the result that the seed passages from the seed dispensing mechanisms into the furrows may be made quite short. This materially improves the accuracy of planting, especially in the case of seeds that are very light, such as sugar beet seed.

. Additionally, it is another feature of this invention to provide a tight connection between the seed conduit leading to the furrow opener and the seed can, whereby there is no loss of or interference with the flow of relatively light seed,'such as sugar beet seed.

. Still further, another feature of this invention is the provision of a new and useful improvement in a seed dispensing apparatus in which dust and trash that is sometimes mixed in with the seed may readily be discharged from the seed can without being caused to collect in the bottom of the latter.

. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which the preferred form of the present invention has been illustrated.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view showing details of the planting unit of a planter in which the principles of the present invention have been incorporated.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the spring mounting for the seed tube.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing the means for holding the lower portion of the seed tube in position.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the hopper bottom structure.

Referring now to the drawings, the present invention is illustrated as embodied in a planter having a suitable supporting frame to which a plurality of planting units II, each having a furrow opener frame including a combined seed sary, receive an auxiliary fertilizer conduit I09 to which a separate fertilizer furrow opener may be secured. Either of the fertilizer conduits I01 and I09 may receive a fertilizer tube, depending on whether it is desired to deposit the fertilizer in the furrow opened by the seed furrow openers IOI or in a separate furrow opened by a secondtool. Seed from the seed can I02 is delivered into the furrow opened by the disks IIll by means that form the principal part of the present in- 1 vention.

According to the present invention, new and improved seeding mechanism is provided for this planter, particularly accommodating and making use of the low mounting position of the seed cans so that the seed in passing from the seed can or container I02 to the ground moves through only a relatively short path. It will be noted that the seed can I02 includes a hopper I mounted on a hopper ring 302 provided with apertured lugs 303 carrying a hinge pin 304 which is received in a bracket 305 formed on the combined fertilizer and seed boot casting I5. This is conventional construction so far as the present in-;

vention is concerned. Also mounted on the pin 304 is a hopper bottom 306 comprising a ringlike member having lugs 307 which receive the' pin 304. The ring portion of the hopper bottom 306 has a beveled periphery 308 spaced from but fairly close to the lower edge of the hopper. bottom ring, the space between these portions being indicated in Figure 5 by the reference numeral 309. The hopper bottom 306 supports a false plate 3 and the latter supports a seed plate 3I2, having a dome or central section 3l5 and a planar marginal section 3I3, apertured: as at 3M, to form seed cells. The peripheral edge of the seed plate section 3I3 is spaced fairly close to but slightly away from the adjacent walls of the hopper bottom ring 302, and likewise the periphery of the false plate 3 is also spaced slightly away from the walls of the lower edge of the hopper bottom ring 302. This particular construction has the advantage of providing for the discharge of dust and the like from the hopper 30I, the dust falling out between the hopperbottom ring and the edges of the seed plate and the beveled portion 308 of the hopper bottom 306.

The false plate 3 is provided at one point in; its periphery with a depending boss section 3|! 1 ICE '0 Each seed-fertilizer boot or frame I5 a! which isapertured, as at 3! (Figure 4), to form a curved seed passage and a socket section 319 communicating therewith. It will be noted from Figure 4 that the seed plate, which rotates in the direction of the arrow, is disposed just above 5 the seed passage 3 l 8 and that the latter is curved generally in the direction of movement of the seed J plate so that the seed passingeoutwardly;from the seed cells 3! would move downwardly in a curved path of movement 'due to'the actionof '10 velocity and/or the knockout"mechanism(not''v shown) and the velocity imparted thereto by the rotation of the seed plate. The seed fertil-i'zer boot casting is formed with a seed passage 325 which at-its upper end is shouldered,:as at 328,- 15 and enlarged as at 321. A seedtube 330 is-disposable in the seed passage 325 and has an upper end that is received in the socket 3l9, as bestshown in Figure 2. A'collar or flange 328 is fixed, as .by welding, to the upper end portion of the tube 330 and a spring 352 is disposed between the collar 328 and the loose washer Sim-that rests on the shoulder 326 and looselyreceives the upper end of the tube 330. lhe lowerend of the tube 330 is held in position in the lower portion of the seed passage 325 by a pair of lugs 335, best shown in Figure 3. The action of the spring 332 is to continually urge the upper end of the tube 330 into the socket 3L9, and thus provide a tight connection between the seed conduit 330 and the-seed passage 318 leading, directlyfrom the seed cells 3M. A fertilizer tube leads downwardly from the fertilizer hopper bottom of the planter and may be connected into the fertilizer conduit I01 when it is desired to deposit the fertilizer in the same furrow with the seed. However, whenit is desired to deposit the fertilizer in a separate fur-row, preferably alongside but spaced from the seed furrow, the lower end of the fertilizer tube is disposed in the auxiliary fertilizer spout section H19.

While we have shown and described above the preferred structure in which the principles of the present invention have been incorporated, it is to be understoodthat our invention is not to be limited to the particular details shown and described above, but that, in fact, widely difierent. means may be employed in the practice of-the broader aspects of our invention.

What we claim, therefore, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1.: In a planter, a member having a generally, vertical'through openingwithan upper? sectionforming an enlarged chamber atthe upper-portion of saidopening, the lower part-of .-said-: chamber forming an upwardly facing shoulderedsection, a seed can mounted on said member and" including a downwardly facing opening and' a flange surrounding said downwardly facing open-- ing, said flange having an-interna-l diameter apepreciably larger than the diameter of said down wardly facing opening, the portion of 'saidsseed can between said latter opening and'said flangeforming a downwardly facing shouldered sectionisurrounded by said flange and terminating-- at a point above said upwardly'facing section,"

a seed tube disposed in "said through "opening, a: collar fixed to the upper portion! of. fsaidittub'e below the upper end thereof, a washerfi'oosel-y dis-J posed about said tube below said "collar,both said" collar and said washer being disposed in 'sa'id" chamber in generally vertically spaced apart. rela:- tion and said washer being adapted to engage the upper face of said upwardlyfacing shouldered section, and a spring surrounding said tube= andi 4 acting between said washer and said collar for holding the collar at the upper end of said tube seated against the lower edge of said flange and the upper end of said tube seated within said flange.

2. In a planter, a member having a generally vertical-through opening with an upwardly facing diametr-ically enlarged shouldered section, a seed can mounted on said member and including va portionhaving a'downwardly facing opening and "a fl'an'ge surrounding said downwardly facing opening,'the internal diameter of said flange being larger than the diameter of said downwardly facing opening and the external diameter of said shouldered section, whereby said flange is adapted to-enter said enlarged shouldered section, a seed tube disposed at its lower portion in said throughopening and having an upper end disposable within said flange substantially in alignment with said downwardly facing opening, a collar fixed to the upper portion of said tube and disposable within said enlarged shouldered section below the upper end thereof and engageable with the lower edge of said flange when the upper end of saidtube isdisposed within said flange, a washer loosely disposed about the upper portion of said tube below said collar and adapted to seat against said upwardly facing shouldered section of said member, and a spring bearing :at its lower endfacing opening, a seed tube loosely disposed in said through opening, a collar fixed to the upper" portion of said tube below the upper end thereof, a washer loosely disposed about'the upper portion of said tube below said collar and'adapted to seat against said upwardly facing shouldered section of said member, a spring bearing at its lower end against the upper face of saidwasher and bearing at its upper end against said collar for holding the upper end of saidtube seated within saidflange, and a pair' of iugs' in the lower partof said through openinguand'en gageable with the-lower portion of said seed tube for: holding the lattersubstantially against a wall of said through opening.

4. The-invention set forthin claimS, further characterized by the internal diameter of saidthrough opening above said upwardly 1 facing shouldered section being at least equal to the diameter of said'washer, wherebysaid seed tube; springand washer-may .be' removed from said through opening when said-seed canis removed from said-member;

CLAUDELW'. W'ALZ. HOWARD F; CLAUSEN."

References Cited in the file of 'this patent UNITED STATES- PATENTS Number Name Date 999,602 Slee Aug-(1,1911 1,281,588 Krofta oat; isflare- 1,290,o Cole Ja'n. 7,1919 1,330,994 winkle -ui Feb. 17 1920- 1,s17 :,273 Piquet Feb. 192a" 1,944,331 Wamhofi Jan. 231.1934 1,947,086 1 Hillyard FebJ-13, 1934 

